New Perspectives in Science Education

In current thinking the professional development of teachers is viewed as a continuum process that needs to contain content, pedagogical and technological knowledge. While shifting the national curriculum of Kuwait to competency based curriculum starting in year 2016 (Kuwait review of Professional Development, 2016), the education field needed incentive amount of induction and training for teachers to adopt to the new curriculum. The training is delivered either through one-week courses in one of the training centers or through one-off workshops in district centers or in schools. This training is largely subject or pedagogical-related. It is determined in a top-down manner by the Supervisors with little or no consultation with teachers as to their need (Kuwait review of Professional Development, 2016). Also, The lack of adequate of training programs, and the continuous follow-up in terms of professional development. The evidence from a broad range of interviewees from both math and science teachers strongly suggested that the mode of training delivery was formal, lecture-oriented, and did not normally entail much hands-on involvement of the participating teachers.Descriptive analysis as well as qualitative approach were used to analyze the process of localizing training in public schools of Kuwait based on TPACK model speciflly for science and math teachers as in-depth case study. It is acceptable to set up the plan to localize the training and enrich the educational field with new curriculum techniques and provide them with ongoing training, however, the critical part remains in being innovative and provide the teacher with their needs rather than top down- or uncategorized type of training. It was noticeable from the results that there were no clear vision on how to determine the training for teachers. This is normal during a radical change in the national curriculum, but in the near future, and with the application of self-evaluation of the teacher, training programs should be a combination of a vision for development by guidance and an actual need of teachers through surveying or any other methods. Training requires high competencies in the transfer of experience and a thorough understanding of the training materials. This research, with its analyses and recommendations, can be used as a  first step towards the provision of a roadmap for the career-long professional development of teachers in Kuwait and a basis for the formulation of policies on which a Teacher Education Strategy and a National Teacher Framework can be built.

Keywords: TPACK model, Competency Based Curriculum, Science teachers, Reform curriculum, localizing training. 

References:
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[2] Wiseman, A. W., Alromi, N. H., & Alshumrani, S. (2014). Challenges to creating an Arabian Gulf knowledge economy. Education for a Knowledge Society in Arabian Gulf Countries, 24, 1–33.